Jamco Suspension is well known for suspension parts, be it dropped spindles and uprights, leaf springs, lowering blocks, or its modified '49-53 Ford Shoebox suspension that does away with the kingpins, replacing them with ball joints. The only problem with this arrangement was the downtime involved as you had to send your suspension arms to Jamco for them to be modified. The guys were aware of this and have addressed the situation with new tubular A-arms, developed exclusively for them by Classic Performance Products, so you know they're going to be first rate. We took the opportunity to drop by the CPP shop and watch as the first of the new Jamco suspension kits was installed on the company's R&D car.

What's great about the kit is it removes all that downtime; order the kit and change out your old suspension in a weekend and still have time to cut the lawn, as it's a bolt-in deal with no cutting or welding required, and the original steering can be retained, including the tie rods. The lower arms use original cross-shafts, while the uppers mount to a bracket that bolts to the stock cross-shaft holes and allows for more precise alignment. By switching to ball joints from the antiquated kingpin design, you'll benefit from better handling and improved steering, as well as better ride quality. The kit uses '75-80 Ford Granada spindles which lower the car 2 1/2 inches on their own, and coupled with lowered coil springs you can fine-tune the ride height up to 5 1/2 inches lower than stock.

While you can use the Granada disc brakes, Jamco also offers a big brake kit: 13-inch cross-drilled rotors on an anodized billet aluminum hub, with twin-piston PBR C15 calipers. The big brake kit requires 17-inch or larger wheels. However, it's the suspension installation we're interested in here, so let's get out into the shop.